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Penny Pincher: Travel insurance

It's cheap, but not clever to avoid buying travel insurance. Don't get swindled by your tour operator — for the best quotes, shop around

Brian Schofield

November 14 2010, 12:00am, The Sunday Times

A man's foot in plaster - and that could be you, so sort out the insurance (Romilly Lockyer)

Don’t tell Mrs Pincher, but my favoured money-saving strategy for buying travel insurance is, erm, forgetting to buy travel insurance. I’m not alone in this: 2m Britons a year visit Europe with no cover at all. But we’re not being clever — a nasty accident (or worse still, a nasty accident that was your fault) and you could be paying the bill for the rest of your days. So let’s get some cover, but the best value possible. Here’s how.

1. Never buy insurance from the tour operator To pick on Thomson, their basic cover is £22pp for a week in Europe. I can get more comprehensive coverage from theaa.co.uk for nearly seven quid less. Shop around: try travelinsuranceguide.co.uk.